1. Field of the Invention
This invention involves improvements to communications systems and methods in a wireless discrete multitone spread spectrum communications system.
2. Description of Related Art
Wireless communications systems, such as cellular and personal communications systems, operate over limited spectral bandwidths. They must make highly efficient use of the scarce bandwidth resource to provide good service to a large population of users. Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) protocol has been used by wireless communications systems to efficiently make use of limited bandwidths. The protocol uses a unique code to distinguish each user""s data signal from other users""data signals. Knowledge of the unique code with which any specific information is transmitted, permits the separation and reconstruction of each user""s message at the receiving end of the communication channel.
Adaptive beamforming technology has become a promising technology for wireless service providers to offer large coverage, high capacity, and high quality service. Based on this technology, a wireless communication system can improve its coverage capability, system capacity, and performance significantly. The personal wireless access network (PWAN) system described in the referenced Alamouti, et al. patent application, uses adaptive beamforming combined with a form of the CDMA protocol known as discrete multitone spread spectrum (DMT-SS) to provide efficient communications between a base station and a plurality of remote units. The computation of spectral and/or spatial spreading weights in the PWAN system is intensive. Low quality links require frequent updates of the spreading weights, whereas higher quality links do not. What is needed is a way to update the spreading weights of links at a rate that is determined by the measured quality of the link.
The invention disclosed herein is a new method to make the most efficient use of the scarce spectral bandwidth in a wireless discrete multitone spread spectrum communications system. The spectral and/or spatial spreading weights are updated at a rate that is determined by the measured quality of the link. Low quality links require more frequent updates of the spreading weights than do higher quality links.
In accordance with the invention, the method includes the step of receiving at a base station a first spread signal comprising an incoming data signal spread over a plurality of discrete frequencies. The method continues by adaptively despreading the signal received at the base station by using first despreading weights. Then an error value for the first spread signal is computed. The error value is then compared with a threshold error value. Then, in accordance with the invention, the spreading weights and despreading weights for the base station are adaptively updated, depending on the error value. If the error value is less than the threshold error value, then the method maintains the first spreading weights as the current spreading weights at the base station to apply to an outgoing data signal. Alternately, if the error value is greater than the threshold error value, then the method adaptively calculates second despreading weights at the base station from the first spread signal and calculates second spreading weights as the current spreading weights from the second despreading weights to apply to the outgoing data signal. Then method then continues by spreading the outgoing data signal at the base station with the current spreading weights, to distribute the outgoing data signal over a plurality of discrete tones, forming a second spread signal. The method concludes by transmitting the second spread signal. In this manner, the computationally intensive calculation of new spreading and despreading weights is performed only when needed to maintain the desired signal quality.
In accordance with an alternate and preferred embodiment of the invention, the method includes the step of receiving at a base station a new incoming spread signal comprising an incoming data signal spread over a plurality of discrete frequencies. The method continues by accessing a stored error value for a previously received spread signal. The error value is then compared with a threshold error value. Then, in accordance with the invention, the spreading weights and despreading weights for the base station are adaptively updated, depending on the error value. If the error value is less than the threshold error value, then the method maintains the existing despreading and spreading weights as the current spreading weights at the base station to apply to the new incoming signal and the next outgoing data signal. Alternately, if the error value is greater than the threshold error value, then the method adaptively calculates new despreading weights at the base station from the new incoming spread signal and calculates new spreading weights from the new despreading weights to apply to the new incoming signal and the next outgoing data signal. The new incoming signal is then despread using the newest despreading weights. Then the method computes and stores a new error value for the new incoming signal. Later, the next outgoing data signal is spread using the newest spreading weights. The outgoing signal is spread to distribute the outgoing data signal over a plurality of discrete tones. In this manner, the computationally intensive calculation of new spreading and despreading weights is performed only when needed to maintain the desired signal quality.
Currently, the invention has advantageous applications in the field of wireless communications, such as cellular communications or personal communications, where bandwidth is scarce compared to the number of the users and their needs. Such applications may be effected in mobile, fixed, or minimally mobile systems. However, the invention may be advantageously applied to other, non-wireless, communications systems as well.